2005

Highlights of 2005:

Ireland – “The Vampire House of Ireland” is founded by Wastelandstalker and Thomas Amaeda.

February 9: Birmingham, England, UK – Police are reported to have arrested the suspect accused of biting three people and apparently sparking an urban myth about a vampire on the loose. Police confirmed officers had arrested the man believed to be responsible for the original incident in December.

February 14: USA – Lord D’Drennan, master metal-smith and designer of the original Sanguinarium Ankh (nowadays referred to by the OSV as the “Legacy Ankh”, commits suicide.

February 16: Toronto, Canada – A mistrial is declared in the murder trial of three teenagers in Toronto amid allegations that a key prosecution witness lied about her interest in vampirism. Justice David Watt makes the ruling two days after the jury began deliberations. Watt says the witness, a former girlfriend of one of the defendants, may have misled the court after a newspaper report that she had contradicted her sworn testimony in postings to the internet. The 12-year-old victim, who can only be identified as “Johnathan,” was stabbed to death in November 2003. The victim’s stepfather was also beaten, but managed to flee. The victim’s older brother, now 18, and two friends, ages 16 and 17, were charged with first-degree murder. All three pleaded not guilty. Because of their ages at the time of the killing, none of the defendants can be named under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The Crown’s key witness is a girlfriend of one of the accused. She recorded a phone conversation with the three boys discussing plans to kill Johnathan and his family. She raised an alarm within minutes, but when police arrived at Johnathan’s east end Toronto home, it was too late. They found the boy’s body, with 71 stab wounds, stuffed in a basement crawlspace. During the trial, Johnathan’s brother acknowledged that he stabbed the victim to death, but argued that he suffered from a psychiatric disorder that made him unable to control violent impulses. The defence claimed that the murder plan in the phone call was a joke and an attempt to woo the girl, who shared her then-boyfriend’s fascination with vampirism. The witness, who was 14 at the time of the killing, testified that she considered the defendant’s blood fetish to be childish. But a report published in the National Post said that the girl had posted comments to an internet site in which she professed an interest in “blood, pain … cemeteries [and] knives.” It also said she had apparently posted commentary about her testimony to an online journal during the trial. “I don’t see in this case how Humpty can be put back together again,” Watt tells the court in declaring the mistrial. “If this young woman did not commit perjury, she came close enough and I don’t see what else I can realistically do.” The court is scheduled to reconvene the same week.

February 27: Conyers, Georgia, USA –Founding of House of Sheol Vampire Coven by Libby Hodges. This group becomes known in 2010 as the first to institutionalize an annual day to celebrate Vampyres and Black Swans.

March 18: Tehran, Iran – Mohammed Bijeh, known as the “hyena” or the “Vampire of the Desert”, is sentenced to death for killing 17 children and three adults in Pakdasht, a suburb of Tehran. His accomplice, Ali Baghi, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 100 lashes for kidnapping. Mohamed, sexually abused his victims and then killed them, by poison, strangling or simple shock. Then he buried their bodies in the desert south of Tehran and left a dead animal on the grave to hide the smell of corpses. (Article)

April 15: Boston, Massachusets, USA – On April 15 and 16, three members of the “Boston Direct Action Project” masquerade as World Bank public relations representatives, with black suits, vampire fangs, and large black umbrellas. They hit the streets of Washington, DC during the mobilization against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to show “the true face of the World Bank.” Before the march starts the “vampires” give interviews to video, radio and print journalists and make impromptu presentations to groups of protesters around the rally in front of the World Bank headquarters. When the march of about 1,000 demonstrators leaves the World Bank headquarters heading towards DuPont Circle the spokespeople unsuccessfully try to stop the “misguided protesters” from marching. As the spokespeople pass the lines of police they give them cards and thumbs up, thanking them for keeping the rabble in line. Towards the end of the rally the vampires are booed from the stage as they try to persuade the crowd to support World Banks policies. The Bloodsuckers are then driven from the park by the “Rude Mechanical Orchestra“ a radical marching band led by a high-kicking flag twirler.

UK – Several English clubs forbid Sonya Scarlet from including bloodletting in performances of the Italian extreme Gothic metal band “Theatres des Vampires”, because it violates English laws against the incitement to commit suicide. Scarlet, the band’s former backing singer and current solo vocalist/front, sometimes cuts herself with razors at performances, freely allowing fans to drink her blood, promising them the gift of immortality.

Russia – In central Russia several sightings of the Chupacabra, the “goat-sucker” of Mexico and Puerto Rico are reported.

USA – Stephanie Meyer’s first Twilight vampire novel is published, much to the chagrin of the real VC.

USA – Raven Kaldera publishes “The Ethical Psychic Vampire,” (Xlibris Corp), discussing the ethics of psychic vampirism. Michelle Belanger reviews this book, writing: “Kaldera, an author who has established himself as someone who does not flinch away from touchy subjects and cultural taboos, brings his usual clear, sensible, and sometimes blunt style to the table, offering practical wisdom for those individuals who are struggling to come to terms with their psychic vampirism. In a community that is often rife with politics, Kaldera takes no sides, instead presenting the material simply as he has observed and experienced it for himself. He supplements his own research and insights into the vampiric condition with interviews with other psychic vampires – several of them fairly well-known. An added bonus is that these are vampires who themselves are known to have radically different approaches to the topic, and so the reader gets a full-spectrum view on values, practices, and personal experiences.”

June 29: USA – Michelle Belanger posts a warning on Livejournal about her experiences with Father Sebastian Todd (as Sebastiaan / Hoyt etc was then known) where she mentions among other things, accusations of alleged plagiarism of her work, breach of trust, and misrepresentation. (Link)

July 9: USA – Lady Amenti posts an announcement from Court Amen-Khepera in which she pronounces the Sin Nomine of Father Sebastian Todd. (Link)

August 29: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – Hurricane Katrina leaves most of the city of New Orleans in ruins. The city is declared a disaster area, with many inhabitants relocating. Flooding affects even the venerated New Orleans Vampyre Community, with some older groups and Houses vanishing overnight.